About Bridge Mentorship

Founded in 2009, AIA Chicago’s Bridge program connects AIA Fellows and rising professionals within their first three-to-ten years of practice. It offers an eight-month curriculum of curated programs coupled with informal, one-on-one meetings between mentors and mentees. The program fosters mentorship, inspires leadership, and encourages AIA members to reinterpret and evaluate the trajectory of the practice. The result is a dynamic, multi-generational network of Chicago architects who continue to learn from one another long after the program ends.

Each selected Bridge participant is paired with a local AIA Fellow acting as their mentor. The program incorporates informal social events and organized mentorship discussions focusing on past experiences, career development, and the future of the architectural profession. Throughout the program, the mentors and mentees will also meet in a one-on-one setting to informally discuss specific professional goals while further developing and strengthening their relationship.

This program intends to Bridge the gap between the need for mentorship in our profession and the ability of experienced architects to pass on what they have learned to the future generation of architects.